Then again…

…you can always make your own rain as a great excuse to kiss!

Art used courtesy of the artist, Robin Alysha Clemens. These featured photographs are from 2008. Robin was just 16 at the time. To see how Robin has been growing as an artist, check out her website. And I highly recommend her short film, Ongezien. I haven’t watched the short film Ufok yet, but that’s next!

*grumble*

I admit, I noticed this video over a week ago when it was first released. It’s supposed to be a scientific take on kissing, and I had high hopes for it. I started watching it, thinking I’d review it, but then I stopped, rubbed my eyes, and walked away. I got frustrated when the video went on its first tangent about pizza, Pac-Man, and Chinese characters. I finally watched the rest, and it says very little about why we kiss for romantic reasons.

My problem is that this video ought to be called “How Does Attachment Work?” I’m pretty sure the video was named “Why Do We Kiss?” in order to be more catchy and SEO-friendly, which worked out well because it has 2.7+ million views and counting. Even at the start, Michael, a.k.a. Vsauce, says “Attachment” as the thought opener, and then he adds “…of two people kissing” as an afterthought. This video doesn’t answer the question “Why do we kiss?” It barely scratches the surface. If you want to know more about why we kiss, I recommend you (and Vsauce) pick up and read The Science of Kissing by Sheril Kirshenbaum. (No matter how many times I type it, I spell her name wrong every time.)

I’ll keep hoping Sheril Kisshenbomb (see, I did it again) eventually makes a scientific kissing video series. Meanwhile, here’s the real gem from the video: If you want to see something funny and horrifying, go straight to minute marker 3:40. EEEEAUUUGGHH! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

In other Kiss Chronicles news:

Linda Anselmi has posted a review of the Kiss Chronicles ebook over at Below the Salt News. It’s the very first blog review! Thank you, Linda, for being the ice breaker.

Also, the donations at the Razoo fundraising page are at $160 now. And I haven’t made my donation yet. I’m actually holding out a bit longer, and when it gets closer to $200, I’ll chip in and push the total over that next cliff.

BUT! I’m always going to keep in mind that the Razoo donation total doesn’t show every donation that gets made in the name of this project. A friend of mine who read the book told me that she’s making a $30 donation to her local chapter of the American Cancer Society. She’s a kissing angel. MWAH to you, J!

Don’t forget to kiss your mom for Mother’s Day, mother puckers.

• Just ten more years until I am the meaning of life.
• I had chocolate for dinner.
• The Kiss Chronicles fundraising page for kicking cancer’s ass has reached triple digits. WOOHOO! First mile marker! Thank you to those who have donated so far! (Fundraising on Razoo)
• My ebook is available. Long live the ebook! (The Kiss Chronicles book on Smashwords)
• Three of the best things in the world are all in the same video: red pandas, the word “snogging,” and the Japanese language.

I need to write a post dedicated to the word “snogging” in the near future. Meanwhile, here are two red pandas snogging:

And just a little more CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I CAN!

Today it is my privilege and my pleasure to announce that the Kiss Chronicles ebook is available for purchase download. No purchase required, actually. The ebook is free. There’s only a slight catch — a donation to a cancer-related charity is suggested. The full details on the suggested donation are inside the story, but if you want to take a shortcut to more information regarding the charity, here’s the right rabbit hole to fall through: the Kiss Chronicles project donation page on Razoo.

I ought to be serious and explain just how much it means to me to be publishing this book. That’ll happen. Just not tonight. Tonight, I’m going to relax, sigh in relief, and enjoy the fact that nearly two years later, the Kiss Chronicles project is finally GO! I’ve just completed one of the biggest risks I’d ever taken in my life by taking the NEXT enormous risk of my life. I’ve been on edge waiting to do this for so long, and now that it’s done, I am experiencing some serious bliss. And maybe a bit of exhaustion.

Not only that, but now, I’m an author. I’m an author. Wow, there’s that bliss sensation again.

Click the image below to head to Smashwords and download your copy:

Available at Smashwords!

At the moment, the book is available only at Smashwords, in various file formats, but in the coming days, it will get distributed to other online retailers.

In the coming days, I also have a lot of work to do. Publishing is just the start, just the start.

What am I thinking? I can’t relax now. So VERY much to do! CAPS LOCK! IT IS A BOOK! (By the way, I swear I’m not high. Just…adrenaline. Lots and lots of adrenaline.)

Between the amazing Amanda F. Palmer TED talk I saw last week and now this one, I think I’m about to develop a TED talk addiction. This particular talk, by Dan Pallotta, opened my eyes to some fundamental problems with the way we view charities and how that affects giving. Basically, I watched this and faced the fact that some of my own misguided thinking needed correction. I needed to see this. Maybe you do, too.

Okay, why not? That was pretty serious, so a little fluff wouldn’t hurt. I’ll throw in a video of a patient dog kissing an adorable giggling baby:

Speaking of charities, I’m still in touch with the one I want to benefit. I made a phone call today to check in, but they don’t have a resolution to the problem yet. Just…hanging tight at the moment and keeping fingers crossed.